By Freeman Klopott
Examiner Staff Writer
The Virginia agency recently attacked by a hacker has yet to receive a computer security upgrade ordered five years ago, a spokeswoman for Gov. Tim Kaine told The Examiner.
On April 30, a hacker breached the Virginia Department of Health Professionals Web site and posted a note claiming to have stolen millions of medical prescription records and demanding $10 million for their return. The FBI and state police are investigating, and state officials have said it remains unclear whether the hacker gained access to any patient’s private information.
On Friday, Kaine spokeswoman Lynda Tran said the Department of Health Professionals’ small size meant the agency was among the last on the list to receive the security upgrades Gov. Mark Warner ordered five years ago. The upgrades were scheduled to be finished by the end of 2009, and state workers are on pace to get it done, Tran said. The 2004 order created the Virginia Information Technologies Agency, which is now coming under fire from lawmakers for the hacker’s Web site breach.
In a letter sent to Kaine on Friday from the chairman of the House’s Health, Welfare and Institutions Committee, Del. Phillip Hamilton, R-Newport News, wrote, “I would hope the job performance of the individual or individuals responsible for protecting the sanctity of these records would be dealt with appropriately.”
Tran expressed Kaine’s confidence in the administration’s employees, but added that once it’s determined what went wrong, “anyone involved with any wrongdoing would be held accountable.”
Meanwhile, Secretary of Health and Human Resources Marilyn Tavenner is scheduled to appear before the House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday. Hamilton said Tavenner was called before the committee to specifically discuss the Web site’s hacking, but Tran said her appearance was previously scheduled.
Kaine has repeatedly expressed confidence in his team and noted that it’s “difficult to foil every criminal that wants to harm others,” Tran said.
But, “there’s no question that there’s a need for improvement in the state’s IT infrastructure,” she said.
Staff Writer William C. Flook contributed to this report.
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